Barack Obama, who less than two years ago dipped to 40 percent in approval rating, is nowhere to be seen. He seems to know that the more he is absent and quiet, the more the public likes the idea rather than the reality of him as president — and his approval rating has risen to 51 percent.

Related "National Government" Articles

In most presidential elections, the two candidates spar over issues. The president campaigns for his party's nominee in hopes of continuing his legacy.
Democrats champion liberalism, Republicans conservatism. In numerous press conferences, journalists...

With the political season in full swing and Florida a crucial swing state, Central Florida and the Hispanic vote have garnered much attention, particularly speculation that this vote will swing the state left.
As a Hispanic living in Central Florida, I...

LEESBURG — Tyler Hicks is a born organizer. The 17-year-old senior at First Academy in Leesburg is in the process of planning the venue and booking a disc jockey for homecoming and then later in the school year he'll work on the prom, an event for which...

100 of Central Florida's most influential people weigh in on current events. Read their thoughts on the biggest stories of the week and see what they think will make headlines next week.
Robert Agrusa, executive director of BusinessForce...

TALLAHASSEE – Climate change is not a new issue in Florida policymaking circles, but it's making an inconvenient intrusion into Florida's gubernatorial contest.
Gov. Rick Scott has been taking heat over the past two weeks because he's repeatedly dodged...

TALLAHASSEE – A high-stakes trial over the fate of Florida’s congressional redistricting plans was closed to the public Thursday as top Republican operatives testified about their insider roles in trying to influence the final maps.
Leon County Circuit...

TALLAHASSEE – Former House Speaker Dean Cannon says he sanctioned a secret meeting between legislative employees and Republican operatives because he wanted the 2012 re-drawing of political boundaries to be above reproach.
Cannon, a Winter Park...

In an NBC interview, NSA leaker Edward Snowden has said he trained as a spy and never intended to wind up in Russia.
The full interview, with Brian Williams questioning Snowden last week in Moscow, will air at 10 p.m. Wednesday (tonight) on...

TALLAHASSEE -- The coalition of groups trying to prove Florida's congressional map was intentionally gerrymandered to help Republicans turned to experts Tuesday who testified it was "virtually impossible" to have drawn the maps without political bias.
...

Moms and dads, this is a real horror.
Parents of about 200 girls in northern Nigeria are waiting for any word about their daughters, who were kidnapped about three weeks ago from their school in the village of Chibok. An al-Qaeda-linked Islamic...

TALLAHASSEE -- A year after passing sweeping reforms on political lobbying and conflicts-of-interests, proposals to impose even stronger ethical requirements on politicians are languishing in the Florida Legislature.
An eclectic group of organizations,...

TALLAHASSEE -- Former Florida Gov. Reubin Askew, who led a growing mega-state through a period of modernization and public corruption, died Thursday morning. He was 85.
A family spokesman said he had been admitted to the hospital last Saturday...

Advocates of a new $60 million complex for the Central Florida Research Park say the region's delegation in Tallahassee has been receptive to their pitch for state tax dollars to fund the project.
Construction of the proposed facility — which would be...

TALLAHASSEE -- With Florida’s gubernatorial candidates jostling over the state of the economy, a new report suggests the Great Recession rebound isn’t so stunning or complete.
The non-partisan Pew Charitable Trusts’ new analysis ranks the 50 states on...

Religious institutions have been exempt from tax in the United States since colonial times. The current tax exemption — provided for in Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code — for churches includes synagogues and mosques, and their counterparts...

High-tech industry leaders are on a mission to keep "simulation world" in Orlando, and they want the Legislature's help.
The region's $5 billion military-training industry and a coalition of political, education and business leaders plan to ask state...

TALLAHASSEE — For a month this summer, protesters enraged by the acquittal of George Zimmerman turned the normally sleepy Florida Capitol into center stage of a contemporary social-justice showdown.
They slept outside Gov. Rick Scott's office. They...

TALLAHASSEE -- With a trial looming over Florida's redistricting process, a Leon County circuit judge on Thursday ordered lawyers for some Republican political operatives and a coalition of voting-rights groups to speed up their review of thousands of...

TALLAHASSEE – Gov. Rick Scott and the Cabinet are taking umbrage with President Barack Obama's “navigators” program intended to guide people through the requirements of the new Affordable Care Act, saying it lacks privacy protections.
But with the...